WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — A Palm Beach County election volunteer allegedly stole an encrypted access key during a training session, sparking a criminal investigation.
Detectives with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office say they responded to the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office at 4301 Cherry Road for reports of sensitive computer equipment being stolen.
A subsequent investigation uncovered that the theft happened days earlier, on March 19, while the Elections Office was conducting a training session for volunteers assisting with the upcoming election.
At the training session, detectives say the suspect, John Panicci, took an encrypted access key from a voter registration terminal.
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While officials say the key was configured only for training databases, authorities noted concerns that someone with technical expertise could reverse-engineer the encryption and use it in a live voter registration kiosk for malicious purposes.
After identifying Panicci as the suspect, detectives established probable cause and secured both an arrest warrant and a search warrant for his home.
On March 28, detectives executed the search warrant at Panicci’s residence, where he was located and taken into custody without incident. During the search, investigators say they recovered the stolen key along with a significant amount of electronic and digital storage devices.
Panicci was transported to the Palm Beach County Jail, where he was booked on counts of theft and taking, and damaging an electronic device. He is expected to make his first court appearance on Sunday morning.
Authorities have not said whether any voter data was compromised, but emphasize that the investigation remains ongoing.
